Archive for the ‘Jaguar Heritage’ tag

In 2011, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the E-Type, Jaguar debuted a vintage racing series called the E-Type Challenge, which ran successfully for three seasons. Beginning in 2015, owners of other classic Jaguar models will be able to participate in the brand’s newest vintage racing series, the Jaguar Heritage Challenge, at tracks across the U.K. and Europe.

Run in cooperation with the Historic Sports Car Club, the Jaguar Heritage Challenge Series is open to the marque’s sports cars and sedans built prior to 1966. Classes are set to include XK series cars, pre-1966 saloon cars (sedans), C-Types, D-Types and XKSS models, and E-Types, which will be split into two classes. Races are run in a timed format, lasting for 40 minutes with a mandatory pit stop. Driver changes are allowed, but optional.

The first Jaguar Heritage Challenge event in the 2015 series will be held at Donington Park on May 2-4, followed by Silverstone on May 16-17, Brands Hatch on July 11-12, Germany’s Nürburgring on August 7-9, and the Gold Cup championship at Oulton Park on August 29-31. At this time, there are no plans to bring the Jaguar Heritage Challenge Series to North America, meaning that owners on this side of the Atlantic will need to factor in the cost of transporting cars and personnel to England or Europe if they wish to participate.

The series will also be used to promote the work of the Jaguar Heritage group, which in 2014 announced the construction of six continuation Lightweight E-Type models, based upon six chassis tags booked in 1963 but never utilized. The Lightweight E-Types will be eligible for the Jaguar Heritage Challenge, and the Jaguar Heritage group is expected to announce another continuation model in the coming months.

Dentist James Hull made headlines in the United Kingdom earlier this year when he put up for sale his 543-car collection as a whole with an asking price somewhere in the neighborhood of $170 million. For a while there, it seemed as if nobody had taken the offer, but Jaguar Land Rover announced earlier today that it will buy the world’s largest collection of British cars for its heritage operations.

Amassed over decades and warehoused in Herefordshire, the Hull collection – the largest private car collection in the United Kingdom – contains more than 130 Jaguars, including a 1923 Swallow Sidecar, an SS100, an alloy XK120, a 420 owned by William Lyons, a C-Type, a D-Type, and an XKSS. “It’s the culmination of a life-long hobby,” Hull told theDaily Mail in May (which reported the size of the collection at 457 cars). “Each car has its own story and all have played a part in the history of British motoring.” According to the Daily Mail, Hull was selling the collection – and hoping to get at least £100 million for it – for health reasons. Other estimates of his collection’s value pegged it at between £25 million and £35 million (between $42 million and $60 million). Jaguar did not reveal how much it spent for the Hull collection.

Jaguar Land Rover noted that it will use the cars in the collection “to support brand and experiential marketing … in existing and emerging markets” and that the purchase “is part of an increased commitment by Jaguar Land Rover to protect and nurture the rich heritage possessed by both brands.” No mention was made in the announcement whether Jaguar Land Rover will put the cars on permanent display or whether it will keep or sell the non-Jaguar Land Rover cars in the collection. Most of the cars in the Hull collection have already been restored, so Jaguar Heritage Vehicle Workshop – tasked with recreating Jaguars from scratch as well as restoring customers’ Jaguars – will only have to service the cars from the collection.

“We share the same objective as James to keep this unique collection in British hands and we are delighted this agreement secures their custody for the future,” said John Edwards, managing director of Jaguar Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations.

Hull, 53, founded a chain of dentists offices that operate around the United Kingdom, focusing on cosmetic dentistry.

American Honda Motor Co. has recently debuted a small but soon-to-grow collection of apparel that was inspired by the cars, bikes and scooters of the automaker’s glory days of the 1970s and 1980s.

They offered this insight (get it, Honda’s Insight? ha!):

“Honda is excited to celebrate its heritage by recreating styles and accessories from the past,” said Steve Center, vice president of American Honda’s national marketing operations. “We hope that fans of Honda and vintage clothing will celebrate with us through the Honda Heritage Clothing Collection. American Honda was founded in Los Angeles in 1959, and the fact that these pieces are being designed and produced by partners in Los Angeles is a perfect fit for these historic pieces.”

The initial items to be offered include a selection of three tee shirt designs that will feature the heritage-inspired logo from Honda’s 1959 storefront and logo, a graphic featured on the 1974 Honda Civic sales brochure and a page from a 1973 Civic hatchback catalog. These tee shirts will be priced at approximately $40 each. Future Honda Heritage Clothing Collection items may include cafe racer leather jackets, nylon racing jackets, windbreakers, vests and casual wear.

This got us thinking about some of the other automakers who are both celebrating and cashing in on their heritage. We’ve pulled together a few to give you an idea of the wide range available.

As you can see above, Dodge has a nice selection of merchandise that takes us back to the good old days, at Dodge Life.